Her Mortal
by windsweptsilence
Summary: A Wicked Lovely/Ink Exchange Melissa Marr fanfic. Although he may conceal it pretty well, we all know Seth is jealous of Keenan, in terms of Aislinn. But on this night, he finds a way to get revenge...


Her Mortal

_Her Mortal_

_A/N: Hey guys, this is my first fanfic.Please read AND be kind enough to review- and be honest!_

_Disclaimer: Melissa is my hero, and I'd never try to steal any of her lovely characters. Naturally, they aren't mine!_

Rating: +15, Mature

Aislinn's breathing was breathy, even for her, as she crawled under the covers with Seth. He lead what had become their nightly ritual- some passionate kissing, leading into stripping of clothes, some more kissing in place barred before by the fabric. And gradually sex, if they were both up for it.

And Seth knew it was coming tonight. He could see her skin glowing softly- sinfully- and his desire to put his mouth on it grew more and more each day. They easily fell into the routine, Aislinn sighing more huskily than usual. The most recent nights had almost been a blur- but for the memories. _The Summer Queen really seems to come into her own in her season_, Seth thought to himself, contentedly.

Just as he was undoing the buttons of her lingerie, and bringing his mouth down further with every bare patch of skin, Aislinn suddenly sat up. Seth could immediately tell by her stance that she was back on monarch duty.

"Something wrong, love?" he asked, trying not to cringe. They both knew the answer before they heard the knock on the door.

"Keenan," she said without making a sound. With inhuman speed, she sprung out of the bed, put on jeans, and pulled a sweater over her lacy top. Seth sighed, and simply sat on the couch in his boxers. If Keenan was going to cramp their sex life, he might as well know it.

Aislinn opened the door to Keenan, with Tavish in tow. Seth tried to ignore the pangs of jealousy that rose in him when he saw the way Keenan looked at her. _His_ Aislinn. _Their_ Aislinn.

"My Queen," Keenan murmured, obviously sidetracked from his original agenda by the flowers blossoming in her eyes. He then invited himself inside, but went no further than the entry way. His golden-brown eyes darted over to Seth, half-naked on the couch, beer in hand.

Seth raised the other hand in greeting, and took a long swig. It was going to be a rough night. He knew how it looked, more or less. Two reigning monarchs in their own right, a senior advisor, and the mortal bum with piercings, getting drunk and getting laid. The only way he could deal with it was knowing that he was first in Ash's life- or so he hoped.

Keenan stiffened a little. It wasn't always so obvious, the extent of _his_ queen's relationship with her mortal. Seth saw it in his eyes, and grinned back. He couldn't help it- it was really his only way to fight back.

He was also gratified with Ash's expression. It looked totally invigorated- eyes wide, pupils dilated, lips soft and chapped. It also looked a tad peeved.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, pursing her lips together to keep the curtness out of her voice. All business, now. _Except for that top_, Seth thought. _Yummy._

Keenan cleared hi throat. Twice. Seth thought he was really winning the Battle for Ash, for once. "One of Sorcha's High Court faeries has faded. All regents are being called to the wake."

Seth watched Ash's expression soften unwillingly. He watched Keenan watch it, too. She glanced at Seth, her eyes lingering on his bare abs when she cocked an eyebrow and said, "At midnight?"

"The high court fey do not keep time as mortals do, my liege," Tavish offered. He tugged on his gray beard, almost as uncomfortable as Keenan. Almost.

Seth drank it all in, almost as a spectator affecting the actors more than the script. He played with his eyebrow ring, staring, unblinking, at Ash. He could feel Keenan's eyes boring holes into his back, and could see Ash glancing over to Keenan, with concern in her eyes. It was the gray-haired, older-than-old advisor who finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"My lieges?"

"I didn't realize that was a plural word," Seth remarked, bringing his gaze down from Aislinn to his beer bottle.

"Well, maybe those whose opinions are not necessary in a situation should leave," Keenan said hotly. Ash lay her hand on his arm, and a thin trail of steam floated upward from the contact point. The desert heat radiating off of him eased up, but didn't quite evaporate.

"Don't. Either of you," she warned. Seth opened his mouth, but closed it again. He had been hoping she'd get angry at Keenan. She was so beautiful when she was angry- in a terrifyingly gorgeous and powerful way. Like lightning. But the key word was making her angry at Keenan- it was awful when she was angry at Seth. Frightening, even. He reflected for a moment on how he might rather be struck by lightning.

"I'm ready, any time," she said passively, but this time it was her that Keenan reacted to.

"In…that?" He looked from her bare feet, to her jeans, to that lacy little half top, where his eyes lingered a moment, then to the ratty old sweater. "I'm bringing you to the loft, where you can change."

"Fine," she said dismissively, with a wave of her hand. But with the wave of her elegant fingers, Keenan's adoring gaze was already fixed on her, yet again. It made Seth want to vomit sugar into his beer.

"But first…a word, Seth?" He knew she was back on autopilot monarch mode, and it was an order, not a question. He automatically rose from the couch, and followed her swiftly out the back door, just trying to keep her pace.

"Okay, before I lose my senses to you again, Don't. Taunt. Keenan." Seth had figured this was coming, and sat on the bench, folding his hands like a little schoolboy. But the concern in her eyes surprised him- and he knew it wasn't for him. "He tries so hard. What's right for his fey- he would sacrifice anything to get it. And you should know by now how hard it is for him to keep his emotions in check, not to mention how lucky we are to have this arrangement." She buried her face in his neck, and whispered, "Let's not push him."

He held her silently in that position for a couple minutes, while she composed herself, he supposed. The chilly draft and barely noticeable mist of rain were probably not coincidental. But even as she altered the weather around her, she was still warm in his arms. As warm as she should be, and as warm as she needed to be.

And when she left with Keenan and his old man, Seth didn't feel the pang of jealousy at the sometimes cocky king. Even when he reached out to grasp her hand. No, it was more of sympathy- if he'd been in Keenan's place, kept at an arm's length from Ash, he'd go mad. And, arguably, Keenan was a little mad. But not so much that Seth didn't offer him a smile and a friendly salute when he turned back to look.


End file.
